It's amazing how sometimes you can hear a word or an idea and then it seems like you see it, read it, or hear it everywhere. We were visiting with some family friends last night and they mentioned about how every since we have talked about moving to Croatia, they have seen Croatian things all over that they had never noticed before.
We have had a recurring theme in our house recently.

It's faith.

It seems like everything I have been reading, hearing, studying, or listening to keeps coming back to faith. It has been great. However, I am realizing that faith is really easy to talk about and much harder to live out.

We have no problem saying "God is faithful," or, "God will provide." But, nobody really wants to test the limits of those statements. You don't want to be without a job and wonder if God is really going to provide. Or like Abraham, receive a promise and move everything to go to a place you have never been and see if God is really going to come through. We would rather keep things the way they are.

A good friend of mine said this a while back and it has been in my mind all summer. "Between the promise and the payoff is the process." We receive the promise that God has given or called us to, but before we see the payoff we go through a process. There isn't anything that tells us how long that process is going to be. It could be immediate or it could be years before we see the payoff. The only thing that leads you through the process is faith. Faith is no matter what the circumstances look like you continue to trust that God will accomplish his promise and his purpose in your life.

To be completely honest I have been wrestling with this; we have left a great job, consistent paycheck, great insurance, and a wonderful church family. We left it to follow God's promise.

Now here we are.

In the process.

Wondering where I will work beginning in September.

Wondering what to do with our house.

Wondering when we will actually get to Croatia.

Wondering how we will raise enough support.

Wondering how God will use us in Croatia.

Wondering how we will learn a language.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. If we didn't have faith in this moment none of this would seem logical or possible. I have been challenged by Hebrews 11:1 - 12:2. It is a great passage on faith and lists so many individuals who lived by faith. The great part is that these people had faith but they also wrestled in their own ways.

Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands and tried to get a baby using a concubine.

Moses came up with a bunch of excuses as to why he wasn't the right guy for the job.

Gideon asked for many signs and confirmations to assure him that God was behind his task.

And the list goes on.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses." People that God gave a promise to and provided the payoff but not before the process of building their faith.